Chris is finally back at the bureau. His first week back is modified duty because he hasn't qualified with weapons in over a year. The child Abuse Team is attending their annual Child Abuse Summit (a multi-agency cooperative presentation) where different agencies talk about new case law, and how technology is effecting the jurisdiction's ability to perform their tasks and the investigation of new and current cases. It's all very deep, but he does it with grace and maturity.
We are both in school now, and it's taking some getting used to in order to keep the schedule straight. He has class on Monday night and I'm in class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Monday seems to be our frantic day. Wednesday is the day Sarah has ballet so I just have to leave class half an hour early to take her to class. Her ballet only meets once per week and mine is twice. It hasn't had any effect that I have noticed. I seem to be doing fine in that class. My Word class and Anatomy & Physiology are more difficult. I'm doing it though.
Things are different in more than one way here at home. There is the shift of responsibility and who is taking care of what chores. I remember reading in one of those military magazines that this is very common. The soldier needs to readjust by falling back into their own roles if they are actively seeking to do so. Shunning the role is a sign of PTSD. I have watched for signs and symptoms but have not seen anything so far that would lead me to believe he has any lasting after effects.
There is also the adjustment to Kozmo's passing. Our beloved dog of ten years was euthanized on March 22, 2011. He was ill and the vet said it was only going to get worse. His illness affected his personality and demeanor. He had bitten both of the girls; thankfully neither of the girls were scarred from the bites. His loss was difficult for all of us, especially Sarah. He was there when we brought her home from the hospital and never left her side. He was her protector and companion, as he was all of ours. He will truly be missed.
The next adjustment was to filling the void that Kozmo left behind. Chris and I promised each other from early on in our relationship that if he was in the reserves, we would always have a dog here for protection and companionship. Finding a dog that would fit into our lifestyle isn't always easy. I like big dogs. Chris, on the other hand, likes small dogs. We wanted something in-between that would be good for car rides and camping. We also wanted a dog that liked water and swimming. But above all, we wanted a dog that needed to be saved. I didn't want to contribute to the ever-growing population of dogs that are just "out there", I needed to rescue one. All of our cats are rescues and were saved from sad existences. One was born in my father's woodpile to a feral mother, and the other was born on a farm to a feral mother. Both were trapped and "fixed" and brought into our home as kittens. We wanted to do the same for the dog. It needed to be a puppy. What better place to start than the Oregon Humane Society?
On April 15, 2011 I asked my son Billy and his girl friend Meagan and our youngest daughter Sarah to go with me to the OHS because there was a litter of puppies that was transferred there the previous night. I had seen pictures of the puppies and knew they were all named after the original Star Trek cast. By the time we arrived at OHS, there were only 2 left. They looked pathetic. They were starved and dehydrated. Both had kennel cough and their skin was dry. They had also both been neutered the day before. What a rough start they had indeed. All the more reason for me to take one home and change both of our lives. His name is Spock. I took him to the vet three days after we brought him home because the kennel cough was so bad he couldn't stop coughing. He was given antibiotics and subcutaneous fluids. The poor guy only weighed 5 pounds and was eight weeks old. Given his medical state, I was told to bring him back for a follow-up visit in two weeks. We took him back to the vet after the two weeks had passed and low and behold - he had stopped coughing, gained three pounds and his coat and skin were starting to improve. It was amazing. He was now healthy enough to resume his required immunizations. We did it. We adopted a puppy and transformed our grief-stricken lives. Spock hasn't learned to bark at the doorbell yet, but there's time.
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